Sparrows in the Garden

A friend was talking to me from his sickbed. He was depressed. His problems seemed insurmountable. His health, his finances, he could not find one bright nor even the faintest star shining in his life. The only thing he had was his worries and he had plenty of them. “What am I going to do!” he moaned.

A feeling of helplessness came over me as I listened to one serious problem after another. I leaned up against the wall and stared out a nearby window. There beneath the window was a small garden. It had been neglected. Weeds were growing between the rows of vegetables and the grass had grown so high it had gone to seed. The ground was dusty and dry. I thought how my friend’s situation resembled that garden. I sighed and shook my head.

Suddenly a flock of sparrows appeared in the garden. They hopped around as if it was their garden. They fluffed their feathers in the dusty ground. One of the sparrows took its beak and without much effort stripped a blade of grass of its delicious seeds. Another found a few insects and had a royal feast. They sang, they played, they ate, and they were gone. For a few brief moments a dusty, weed-infested garden had been the scene of a great banquet.

I turned and shared with my friend what I had just seen. Together we considered a God who cares for even the birds of the air and were reassured of His care for us.